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Good morning TexMessagers! Would you feel safe with 5,000 less on the border?

Testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said that 5,000 agents will be removed from the border if the sequester is not stopped.

This announcement comes just a little over a week after Napolitano visited the Texas border to examine its security. Prior to her trip, Texas Sen. John Cornyn was encouraged by the secretary’s visit.

““I hope Secretary Napolitano returns to Washington and relays to the President and Senate Democrats what Texans already know: our border is not secure and the federal government has a long way to go,” Cornyn said in a statement on February 4.

Cornyn has been vocal in his disappointment with the results. He said yesterday that Napolitano’s assessment of border security is a “politically motivated fantasy.”

“My question is, why isn’t she doing her job? She declares that the border is secure. That is demonstrably false,” Cornyn said.

To avoid the looming sequester, Senate Democrats proposed a budget package that would serve as a replacement to the defense and domestic cuts.